​US to Georgia: Don’t touch Saakashvili, he’s our SOB

Following criminal charges filed against former President Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia by the prosecutor's office, Tbilisi City Court accepted the prosecution's motion and ordered the fugitive president's pretrial detention in absentia.

US Republican Senators John McCain and Jim Risch, as well as
Democratic Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Ben Cardin, said in a
joint statement July 28 that they were "extremely
disappointed and concerned" about this ruling. Democratic
Senator Chris Murphy and Republican Senator Ron Johnson had this
to say:

"While we appreciate the goal of preventing a culture of
impunity for government officials, the prosecution of Georgia's
former President – in addition to the former Prime Minister,
Interior Minister, Defense Minister, and Chief Prosecutor -
contributes to the perception that the ruling Georgian Dream
coalition is systematically pursuing charges against their
political opponents."

The US State Department issued a separate statement, saying:
"Commitment to the rule of law means both that everyone must
comply with the law in a democratic society and that the legal
system should not be used as a tool of political
retribution."

Simultaneously, however, the United Nations Human Rights
Committee urged Georgia to continue its trials against former
officials, and demanded to speed up the cleaning up of violations
committed by those officials, though it also said that an
impression of political retribution should not be created.

The former ‘revolutionary’

The rise of Saakashvili started in 2003, when he succeeded in
overthrowing his former patron President Eduard Shevardnadze in
the course of one of the "color" revolutions, the
so-called “Rose Revolution.” Contrary to widespread
expectations, Saakashvili's regime did not bring Georgia either
prosperity or any of the generally desirable values such as
democracy, human rights, the rule of law, etc.

Admittedly, Saakashvili inherited from Shevardnadze what was
essentially a failed state. In a relatively short period of time
the new government was able, with huge Western financial support,
to achieve some impressive results in battling corruption and
organized crime, conducting economic and law enforcement reforms,
developing infrastructure and tourism. In 2004-2006 Georgia was
recognized as "a beacon of democracy" in the region.
That was how US President George W. Bush eloquently put it in his
speech in Freedom Square in Tbilisi in May 2005.

In 2007, however, things took a different turn. Saakashvili and
his close associates started abusing their powers, intimidating
and persecuting political rivals, and gaining control over the
media, as the ruling party gained ever greater sway over core
businesses and the justice system. To muzzle potential criticism,
Saakashvili hired several leading US lobbying firms very adept at
manipulating public opinion and the media.

Saakashvili's trump card was always his strong anti-Russia and
anti-Putin rhetoric. This won him quite a few prominent friends
in Washington; some of these are now rallying in his defense.

While constructing superb government and police buildings, luxury
hotels, health resorts and other showy prestige projects, the
Saakashvili regime neglected climbing unemployment rates, a lack
of social welfare and widespread poverty.

At this point, a rhetorical question can be asked: was the West
aware of the misdeeds of Saakashvili and his entourage? The
answer is yes, of course. And yet it is obvious that the US and
EU will not denounce Saakashvili, and that they will use all of
their influence to force the new Georgian government to give up
their legal prosecution of him.

Personally, I do not think they will succeed. Saakashvili did too
many evil things to too many people in Georgia. More than that,
the court in Tbilisi has not yet charged him with his most
heinous crime of all – the August 8, 2008 military assault on
South Ossetia. It is now common knowledge, with plenty of
documentary evidence, that it was Saakashvili who started that
war. Sooner or later he will be charged with that crime as well.

Pathetically, Saakashvili is now an official adviser to the
Ukrainian government. One can imagine what kind of advice a man
who lost 20 percent of his country's territory can give to Kiev.

Another, no less pathetic action was performed by Tuft's
University Board: it offered a "Senior Statesman"
position to that odious person with criminal charges hanging over
him. Not a very dignified decision by such a prestigious American
University. One wonders what the students’ and faculty's reaction
will be when they read and see the upcoming criminal case
proceedings.

Edward Lozansky for
RT

Edward Lozansky is
President of the American University in Moscow.

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.